Beach Week

Ryan checking out the ocean.

Ryan building sandcastles.

Ryan and the beach ball.

Beautiful beach sunset.

Ryan, Michael and Jenn flying the Nemo kite.

Ryan flying the kite all by himself!

Running through the pools!

Love birds on the beach.

The 3 Musketeers chasing waves.

Ryan cleaning the crab pots. What a good helper!

We spent last week at the beach house with the Boehm's. Ryan went early with Grandma Karen so had extra fun being spoiled by Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Michael and Auntie Jenn. David and I joined everyone on Monday.

We had great weather and enjoyed every minute! Ryan became so brave on the beach. He would hardly go near the water the first day and by the end of the stay was jumping waves! He, Unlce Michael and his Daddy had the best time chasing waves! They were quite the trio! They also played a lot of ball in the yard...but only if hats were on backwards. Ryan also flew a kite all by himself. He's getting so big!

The big boys had fun fishing and crabbing. Ryan got to go out in Grandpa Bill's boat for the first time, and even got to drive the boat. He helped pull in crab pots and helped clean up afterward, too!

Us girls and Ryan enjoyed doing nothing while they were away. Ryan and Grandma did some sewing. And Ryan loved building towers with Jenn, and knocking them down.

Other highlights:
Eating lots of fresh crab. Jenn and Michael made us sushi - delicious!
Seeing a whale from the beach!
Playing ball with hats on backwards (or else you couldn't play)
Ryan chasing the beach ball down the beach, then diving on it to stop it. The funniest thing ever!!

"Swimming"

Ryan has been coming up with crazy ideas lately. His imagination is running wild! Tonight he decided he was going to go "swimming". He hasn't wanted to swim all summer, so this took me by surprise.

He wanted me to fill up his blue bucket so he could help water the flowers, then decided it would work better as a swimming pool. He was dunking his head, jumping in (usually unsuccessfully) and even tried to sit on the edge (which ended with him tipping the entire bucket of water on himself)! It was super fun to watch him!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Karen!

Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bill came up for the day so we could celebrate Grandma Karen's birthday (which is tomorrow...July 24th)! David made us a delicious seafood dinner...salmon, halibut and prawns with almond butter. Yummy! Ryan wouldn't eat his dinner, but it seemed to disappear quite quickly when the cupcakes came out. At least he knows the drill...no dessert until his dinner is gone. Ryan had fun singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candles...I think he did it 4 times! And eating the cupcakes was pretty fun, too. It was a great evening!

Weekend Away

Katy and Shari

Katy, David and Baby Boehm (only 8 weeks to go!)

Ryan spent last weekend with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bill. They had a great time together, and David and I enjoyed a fun weekend "away"!

My friend Shari to Seattle to attend a friend's wedding. We had a wonderful weekend! It was so much fun to just hang out and not have to be Mom for the weekend. David was able to get off work early on Saturday night, which meant we kind of had a date! That hasn't happened in a very long time. Pat and Lindsay threw a great party!!

Fourth of July at Tulaby Lake!

Ryan and Abby

Ryan not happy to be leaving the cabin.

Auntie Katy and Evelyn. Such a happy girl!!

The moon rise over Tulaby Lake

Ryan and Abby hanging out on the dock

Ryan hitting balls in the back yard

Emma and Ryan picking up the baseballs in the back yard. Great Teamwork!

Saining for minnows

Gunnar, Emma and Abby soaking up the sun!

Ryan having a blast in the lake!

Ryan's first kayak ride. Looking for fish with Grandma Sue.

Emma and Jillian with Grandma.

Ryan, Emma and Gunnar watching the smoke bombs!

Marshmallow heaven!

Jeannie, Gina and Evelyn in their 4th of July gear.

Ryan boating with Grandpa Ken, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jeannie

Ryan finally warming up to Evelyn!

Ryan throwing rocks with Grandma Sue.

Watching the 4th of July boat parade pass by.

Campfire fun!

Jillian pulling her hair...much to her mother's dismay!

Ryan and Gunnar checking out the tractor.
Ryan refused to go inside.

Gunnar giving 4 - wheeler rides!

Ryan's first boat ride on Tulaby Lake! He spotted the loons.

Emma with Grandma...a typical occurance!!

Sweet baby Evelyn hanging out by the lake.

Ryan and I spent almost a week in Minnesota over the 4th. There were a few bumps along the way....Ryan vomiting the night before we left, having to catch a later flight, Katy almost passing out on the plan (thank goodness Mom was on the same flight), and Katy vomiting the night of the 4th...but overall we had a great time! The weather could not have been more perfect. It was 75-80 degrees every day.

Ryan did amazing on the flight and the long drive (almost 5 hours) north...all in one day! He did have one meltdown. He did not want to get into Grandma and Grandpa's car at the airport. For some reason he expected Mommy's car to be in Minnesota!

It took the little bugger a few days to adjust to cabin life. Every day he became a little more accustomed to things. There were a lot of "No. I Not" to start out...to the life jacket, the boat ride, the kayak ride and swimming in the lake. Once I realized that I just had to force him to do those things we had a blast...and he loved every one of them!

A few of the highlights:

Ryan refusing to look at Evelyn (7 months). Auntie Gina put her right up to him, and he moved away as quickly as possible without making eye contact with her. It was hysterical! Thankfully he warmed up to her towards the end of the vacation. I was getting really worried about how he will react to his new baby sister in a few months. I'm feeling a little better about it now!

Riding in the boat with Ryan, Gunnar and Emma. Ryan screaming the first 5 minutes because he didn't want the life jacket on, then listening to he and Gunnar about the speed. Ryan would say, "faster, Grandpa!" and Gunnar would reply, "slow down, Grandpa!".

The trip to "Old MacDonald's Farm" as titled by Ryan. Gina took us to the farm so Ryan could ride on a tractor for the first time. Of course he wouldn't ride the tractor, but we still had fun. He did ride on the four-wheeler with Gunnar. He also called the hay bales "potatoes". We have no idea where that came from!

Eating at the Burger Hut for the first time in 10+ years! Yummy!!

Spending time with Jeannie and Charlie!

Rachel and Bobby spending the weekend with us! It was great to see them. The brought amazing cheese and brats for us to enjoy!!

Gina having everything so organized that I didn't have to think about cooking once. Thank you, Gina!!

Hearing about Gunnar's fishing stories frm Dad and Uncle Charlie! I still can't believe he stayed out in the boat for more than 3 hours without falling asleep.

The baseball games in the back yard and the camp fires by the lake!

The beautiful moon rise over Tulabe Lake on our last night! Spectacular!!

Ryan making Abby run up the hill a zillion times! What a sport! "Up the hill, Abby!" The poor girl couldn't sit down for 30 seconds before he'd start again. He's one persistent little guy!

Grant lighting fireworks with the kids. They had so much fun! Ryan loved throwing the snaps on the big rock. I think he used up all them by himself.

Ryan driving the "Bartz car" down the hill.

Making such fun memories with everyone!

@ the zoo with Kassi

My little monkey fitting right in.

Checking out the giraffe.

The new penguin exhibit

Me, Ryan and his girlfriend Kassi went to the zoo a few weeks ago. We got to check out the new penguin exhibit for the first time. It was awesome. We all loved it. We also got an up-close-and-personal experience with the giraffes. They happened to be feeding them when we walked by so they were right by the fence. It was so cool! Ryan was a little scared at first, but soon thought it was pretty neat. We had such a great day running from exhibit to exhibit, and I was so thankful Kassi was there to chase after him. It's not as easy for me to keep up with my little monkey with this big belly!! To end the day Ryan and Kassi rode the carousel. Kassi had to stand by him to make sure he stayed on, but Ryan did not like that. He wanted Kassi to ride her own horse, and almost refused to ride until she got on one. It's so hysterical how he gets ideas in his head.

Uncle Michael and Jenn's babysitting adventure...

Uncle Michael and Jenn came to watch Ryan the first weekend in May so I could attend a work conference. Ryan was in heaven! He adores his Uncle Michael, and it's as if no one else exists when he's around.

From the reports I received, they did great...besides a little trouble getting Ryan to sleep (which was no surprise to me..we've always struggled with that!).

They played a lot of soccer, and went to the beach. These are a few pictures Michael and Jenn took while they were at Carkeek. Notice Michael and Ryan's matching shirts!!

I did determine after my return that Ryan must have figured out he could negotiate with Uncle Michael. It took us about a week to break him of that habit. There is no negotiating with Mom and Dad...especially Mom!